OK so time to go back to my Atari nostalgia posts and this un will be on the game Yars' Revenge which was released for the Atari 2600 console back in 1982. But the question has to be asked, after almost 35 years from its original release, how does it stack up??? Well let's give take a look and find out....
PREMISE AND GAMEPLAY
Well there isn't a great deal to the premise of the game itself but basically the playable character is a Yar, an insect like creature and its purpose is to try and destroy the evil Qotile who resides in a protective barrier and that's pretty much it!
However as for the gameplay well there is a bit more to it than just that as in order for the Yar to destroy the Qotile, the Yar must penetrate the Qotile's barrier which it can do by nibbling away at it piece by piece or by using its weapon to shoot it. Once the Yar has created a hole big enough in the Qotile's barrier, it can then use its Zorlon cannon to fire a shot which will destroy the Qotile on impact. However the Yar must first pass through the Qotile in order to activate the cannon or by shooting at the protective barrier.
In addition to this the Qotile can also defend itself by turning into the Swirl, a projectile weapon that can fire across the screen so the Yar has to fly out of its path to avoid being killed. The Yar however can use its missile to destroy the Swirl and if it does it while the Swirl fires across the screen you will get an extra life (you can get a maximum of 9 lives in total and start with 4). The Qotile also has a seeking missile, which can follow the Yar meaning that the Yar has to try and get out of its path otherwise it will be destroyed. The Yar can also hide in a neutral zone (in the middle of the screen) which it can use to evade the missile from detecting it.
As for the game's difficulty level it get's tougher as the levels progress and as a result of this the seeking missile will move faster around the screen, the neutral zone will eventually disappear leaving nowhere for the Yar to hide. Another thing that will happen is that the Swirl will fire off faster without warning and it can also change direction quicker to try and kill the Yar, which often could result in success.
GRAPHICS
As for the game's graphics, well they are pretty basic looking of course given that the game was made in 1981 (released in 1982) with the Yar and Qotile appearing quite simple and blocky and the Qotile's protective barrier is either rectangle shaped or arc shaped. The animations for the Yar and the Swirl are pretty good though and the controls for the game are pretty fluid and smooth. The game also does make good use of its colour as the Qotile's barrier changes colour throughout the levels as does the Swirl to add a little variety into the game's visuals. The neutral zone is also a hash of multi-colours and visually it is a bit distracting if you stare at it a bit too long! But despite the pretty primitive graphics its still a game that does well in its simplicity of its own presentation.
SOUND
As for the sound....well this is one area where Yars' Revenge definitely shines as the sounds of the game are great particular the deep electronic hum that plays throughout, which could arguably be either the Yar flying or it could be the noise of the Qotile's protective shield. Its hard to say exactly what it is but its a very cool sound effect. The other sounds also include bleeping for when the Yar nibbles at the Qotile's barrier or shoots at it and then there is the cool explosion noise for when the Yar succeeds in destroying the Qotile or the Swirl with its canon. Again the sound effects are pretty rudimentary but they still sound great after all this time.
FLAWS
As for the game's flaws....well it probably boils down to the repetitive nature of the game as its simply a case of hit and run from the bad guy and that's pretty much it. And the game like many other Atari games of its time has no end goal other than just keep playing until the player loses all their lives and they need start all over again.
Another issue is maybe to do with the fact that the neutral zone is visually a bit distracting with its flashing multiple colours and its use of colour might prove to give players a headache so its maybe an idea to not play the game too long or close to the television screen.
It would also be nice to have been able to get more extra lives in a way as the game limits you to just 9 lives (like a cat, except well this is an insect!). And you also have to try and time your canon shot to take out the Swirl while it is in motion in order to get that extra life, which can be a bit of a pain in the ass in itself. This is also an annoying aspect of the game itself in that you need to carefully time your shot or else you will miss the Qotile as it moves up and down the screen and you need to start over again.
The idea of having to pass through the Qotile to activate the Yar's canon is also a bit daft as it makes you wonder just why it needs to do that in the first place? Maybe its just so the Yar can get a fix on it that way but something needs to act as a catalyst for the canon to come up otherwise you won't be able to destroy it at all. The canon does also activate if the Yar keeps shooting at the Qotile's barrier though so I guess you do have those two options but its just a rather bizzare quirk in a game that's pretty quirky anyway!
Anyway that's it for the flaws
SUM UP
So to sum up, Yars' Revenge holds its reptuation as a classic Atari video game very well and it remains a very addictive, compelling, bizzare yet fun game that will keep you on your toes as you try and avoid seeking missiles and firing swirling projectiles. The graphics are pretty basic looking but the gameplay is great and the game's deep buzzing sound effects are awesome and help give it real atmosphere and even tension.
So to finish off I will say that Yars' Revenge is definitely well worth checking out and to this day its still a classic and if you get yourself an Atari emulator and the ROM you can have plenty of fun playing it.
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back again on here sometime soon with another review and I am awaiting the delivering of the James Bond Collection (contains all Bond films except SPECTRE) so I will no doubt be doing a few Bond film reviews soon from that lot.
So until the next un bye for now!
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